Pat Farrah passed away December 23, 2014. She would have been 72 this coming February. She and her husband, John, lived in Hereford, AZ.
Pat (Farrah) Sutherland – Class of 1960
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Author Archives: David Stevens
Roberta (Otto) Buckley – Class of 1958
Word of Roberta Otto’s death came to me by way of Linda Cunningham who saw Suzanne Walker’s message about it on Facebook.
Roberta’s Celebration of Life service will be Saturday, December 6th at 11:00am at The United Methodist Church of Vista located at 490 South Melrose Drive, Vista, CA 92081. A reception at the church will follow.
It is being requested in lieu of flowers to please make a donation on behalf of Roberta L. Buckley to:
Arthritis Foundation – Greater San Diego Office
8555 Aero Drive, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92123
Kim Wallace – Class of 1956
Kim passed away October 9, 2014 at 8:10 am. he was 75 year old. He was in the Mesa View Hospital here in Mesquite, NV for two days, then transferred to the Dixie Regional Hospital in St. George, UT for a Ten day stay and then transferred to a Skilled Nursing Center also in St. George for nine days.
Jolene (Swearingen) Ankers – Class of 1956
Jolene Ankers
November 14, 1938 – September 20, 2014
Jolene Ankers passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on Saturday, September 20th, 2014.
Born in Trona, California on November 14th, 1938, Jolene was the first born child to Neal and Coila Swearingen, and later a sister, Susan. Jolene attended the University of Nevada from 1956 through 1962, getting married and having two daughters during this time. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Education. She was a teacher in Washoe County for 28 years. During retirement, Jolene enjoyed traveling the country.
Jolene is survived by her husband, Richard Ankers, her daughters, Karyn and Krystin, her grandchildren, Jessyca, Kelcie, Kyle and Kenna, her great-grandchildren, Avery and Greyson, and her dogs, Yogi and Manley.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 11th, 2014, at The Coney Island Bar and Grill at 2:00pm. – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rgj/obituary.aspx?pid=172578431#sthash.zEfotJig.dpuf
Tony Dye – Class of 1984
I heard of Tony’s death on Facebook. I have no details except that the family needs money to help with the funeral expenses. For more information search for SPAGHETTI FUNDRAISER FOR DYE FAMILY on Facebook. There is also a message from his family on his Facebook page.
Melvin Quinton – Class of 58
Linda Monroe Cunningham sent word that Melvin Quinton died in Ridgecrest on July 9, 2014. I will provide more information if it becomes available.
Melvin’s obituary is in the Ridgecrest Independent.
Howard Vassar – Obituary
Howard Vassar, 77, of Polson, Montana and formerly of Trona, California, passed away June 6, 2014 at his home after a long battle with cancer.
Howard was born on September 24, 1936 in Amarillo, Texas to William and Willie Vassar. He grew up in southern California between Trona and Bishop. He worked for his dad sacking salt and driving trucks until he was drafted into the Army serving in the 101st Airborne, Screaming Eagles.
On September 11th, 1961, he married Deanna Marie Garner, settling in Trona building a family and a successful equipment contracting business until he retired 1982 and they moved to Polson, Montana.
Howard helped build and sponsor little league football in Trona, as well as sponsoring the high school football team. He was one of the founders of the first motorcycle clubs in southern California-The Sidewinders.
Howard enjoyed many outdoor activities; such as, motorcycling, dune buggies, water skiing, horseback riding, rodeos, roping, hunting and fishing. His one true passion that he developed over his life time was the love of trap shooting. He won the prestigious Butte Rod & Gun Club Medal in 1999 and attended the ATA World Championship in Vandalia, Ohio with his team mates in 2003. In his career he shot 84, 125 single targets, 93, 800 handicap targets and 65, 250 doubles targets for a grand total of 243, 275 registered targets since 1988.
He is preceded in death by his father William Charles Vassar, mother Willie Lee Vassar, step-father Clifford C. Jones; sisters Margie Conrad and Juanita Vassar and his brothers Edward and Bobby Vassar.
He is survived by his wife Deanna Vassar; children Renee Morgan (Larry Morgan), Radean Vassar (Ryan Boden), Howard ‘Howdy’ Vassar (Debbie Sargent-Vassar) and Tina Vassar-Buser (Mike Buser); seven grandchildren Chad Morgan, Jill (Morgan) Marlow, Aaron Morgan, Christopher Vassar, Caitlyn Vassar, Amber Caraway and Rainee Vassar; eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Howard is also survived by his brother John Vassar and numerous nieces and nephews that he loved dearly.
A celebration of his life will be held Friday, June 13th at 11:00 am at Grogan Funeral Home and Crematory. Burial will follow at Lakeview Cemetery. – See more at: http://www.groganfuneralhome.com/obituary/William-Howard-Vassar/Polson-MT/1389301#sthash.oMOw5QxW.dpuf
Howard Vassar – Class of 1955
William Howard Vassar of Polson, Montana who was a member of the Trona High School Class of 1955 died at 2:00 pm on June 6, 2014. The funeral will be at 11:00 AM, Friday June 13, 2014 and will be held at the Grogan Funeral Home 101 Sixth Ave. East. Polson, Montana 59860 406-883-2808.
Freddie Carrasco – Class of 1958
Freddie Carrasco, Class of ’58 passed away May 20, 2014. No details.
George Sherman adds:
Freddie was a great guy. His sister, Josephine (Carrasco) Sepulveda, was in my class (1956) and passed away a few years ago. He married Monica Wheeler of the Trona High School class of 1957. I believe they were living in Ridgecrest.
Bill Schuette adds:
I am so sorry to hear about Freddie.
He was in my Trona Class from the second grade on. He was the best speaker in Miss Delores M. Sandeen second grade class. I worked with Freddie at Van Dyke Motors during the last couple of years at Trona High School. He was a man of many desires and passions, and was always friendly and considerate of others.
This is a great loss for the class of ’58.
A message from George Sherman about the SVHS
If you haven’t already heard the news, it is something that you will be pleased to learn. The Society is buying another building, mainly to protect their precious historical Searles Valley archives from the possibility of being completely destroyed by fire. Nearly all of those materials are stored in a 1917 vintage, highly flammable, wooden building that has no fire suppression. It contains thousands of photographs and negatives and tens of thousands of pages of historical documents, all of them relevant to the history of Searles Valley. The entire treasure could be wiped out with one fire, leaving behind very little documentation left of our beloved history.
The building they want to buy is the Credit Union Building, which has two fire-proof safes, one of which is a large walk-in. In addition to providing protection of the historical photos and documents, the new building will provide additional space for researchers to work while exploring our history. It will also free up three rooms in the Old Guest House Museum for more displays of our historical artifacts.
The Society has raised $27,000 to make the purchase, but they still need about $20,000 more from personal donations by people like us. This seemed like a huge amount to me until I realized that, if each of us on this e-mail list gave $200, we would be providing a little more than what is needed. With that in mind, I have sent a check for $200 to the Society as my donation. I’m not asking that every one else do the same, but would greatly appreciate any amount you can donate to this very worthy cause. Don’t send it to me. Please send it directly to the Society at Searles Valley Historical Society; P. O. Box 630; Trona, CA 93592. Be sure to indicate that it is a donation to the Searles Valley Historical Society Building Fund. Since the Society is a 501c(3) non-rofit corporation, all of your donation will be tax deductible. Any amount you can donate will be greatly appreciated by me and by the hard-working volunteers of the Society.
Much love,
George